Kylo's Moving Castle
by a-bit-dolally
Summary: Rey catches the attention of the Wizard of the Waste and after having a curse put upon her, she travels to the only place she could get help from - a moving castle roaming the hills surrounding Hanna City. However, the castle is said to belong to the wizard Kylo Ren who steals the hearts and souls of young girls who have the misfortune to meet him. A "Howl's Moving Castle" AU
1. Chapter 1

On the planet of Chandrila, everybody knows that it is rather unlucky to be the eldest of three children. You are normally the first to fail should each child go to seek their fortune.

Rey's parents, Jyn and Cassian Andor, were well-to-do and ran a clothes shop in Hanna City. Her birth parents had died when she was four years old and left her under the care of the couple who, unable to have children of their own, had already adopted twin girls, Rose and Paige Tico, both younger than Rey. Despite the couple having unwillingly had their estranged and troubled friends' daughter dropped at their doorstep in the middle of the night, they treated all of their children with equal kindness.

Rey, Rose and Paige were their parents' pride and joy and were sent to the most prestigious school in the city. Upon finding out the common belief, Rey resigned herself to the idea that she would not be having a very riveting and exciting future, but she was happy enough to help look after her sisters and prepare them to pursue their fate when the time came. Since their adoptive parents were always busy in the shop, the responsibility fell on Rey to keep an eye on the twins. There was the occasional screaming match and hair pulling between the pair, so Rey would have to step in and separate them, usually having to mend their clothes afterwards.

Everyone in Hanna City began to talk of the Wizard of the Waste, Snoke, again. The rumour was that he had threatened the Queen after she ordered the royal wizard, Wizard Dameron, to go to Jakku and defeat Snoke. However, he had not only failed his mission to kill Snoke, but it had also resulted in his own death.

A few months later, a tall black castle arrived on the hills surrounding the city, ashy and dark smoke puffing from its towering chimneys. All the citizens were certain that Snoke had come to terrorise everyone as he had done once before. At night, the streets were empty and silent; nobody dared leave their houses in the dark. However, the castle didn't move and Snoke didn't appear. Nonetheless, everyone was cautious and worried, and there were even talks of asking Queen Apailana for help.

Eventually everybody found out that the castle didn't belong to Snoke but to a wizard by the name of Kylo Ren. To the people of Chandrila, Snoke was terrifying; however, to their despair, Wizard Ren didn't seem to be any friendlier. Although he was never seen or encountered, there were stories that he collected the hearts of young girls and took away their souls. Some even said that he consumed the stolen hearts. No matter what story was heard, the common opinion shared was that Wizard Ren was a heartless and cold man and that no one was safe from him should they be caught, especially young girls. All the women in the city were warned to never go out by themselves, much to Rey and her sisters' chagrin.

Sadly, the dangerous tales of Wizard Ren were far from their minds when their father unexpectedly died just as Rey turned 18 years old. They all soon realised that their school fees had left the family with quite the debt, so when all was taken care of and the funeral had finished, Jyn sat her daughters down to talk.

"I'm sorry, but you two will have to leave school." She looked at Paige and Rose sadly. "I'm trying my best to keep the business running at the same time as taking care of all of you, but I can't do both." Rose and Paige slumped in disappointment. First their father, now having to leave school early. What next?

Jyn tried to fake a smile. "But don't worry, I've sorted it all out. Paige-"

"I want to keep learning." Paige sat up straight and determined.

"And you will," Jyn replied. "I've organised for you to be an apprentice at the bakery in Senate Plaza. They're known for treating all of their students well, and I'm sure you'll be very happy there."

Paige smiled the kind of smile that you do when you get a gift that you didn't want. Not wanting to seem ungrateful, she thanked her mother and said, "It's lucky I like to bake."

Jyn turned to Rose, "I know that you're the youngest and you're not allowed to work properly right now. You know my old friend Maz Kanata?"

"Is she the one who is short, has the thick glasses and is a bit weird?" Rose fixed her dark brown eyes on her mother. "She's a witch, isn't she?"

Jyn nodded. "With a lot of clients, and she's a good woman. She'll teach you all there is to know."

Rose gave in, "I guess so… she's nice enough."

Rey knew that Jyn had set everything up as it was meant to be. Knowing what was to come next, she wasn't at all surprised when her mother turned to her and said, "I know that it's not what you want, but it seems right that being the eldest, you should inherit the shop. I would like to take you on to teach you. Is that alright?" She looked at her daughter anxiously.

Accepting her fate to working in the shop, she gave a reluctant smile and nodded.

Jyn sighed in relief. "All settled then!"

Rey helped Rose pack her clothes and the next day said goodbye as Rose headed off to where Maz Kanata resided. As Rose would have to pass over the hills where Kylo Ren's castle sat, Jyn was understandably worried for her daughter, and so she sent her on her way with a close family friend.

"She'll be fine," Paige said, her voice wavering. She refused to have anyone help her pack, and she marched off to the bakery. Later that night a message was sent to Jyn and Rey informing them that she was okay and that she was having fun. A message from Rose followed a week later confirming that she had arrived safely and that all was well, which put Jyn's mind at ease.

Rey already knew the skill of sewing very well. From the moment she had arrived at the Andor household, she had been surrounded by yards and yards of fabrics of all kinds, from soft and silky to coarse and tough, from dark to bright and colourful. She knew every kind of material by the time she was six, and she could remember the names of all of the shop's regulars. She knew all the tricks of the trade, and she could design and stitch the most elaborate patterns on a ball dress within three hours.

So Jyn taught her how to sell the clothes, how to interact with the customers, but in all honesty, Rey didn't spend much time at the front of the shop. Instead, she spent most of her time in the workshed sewing and stitching and designing. She quite liked doing it—she was a creative spirit—but it was a lonely and sometimes arduous job. Everyone else in the workshop was at least 20 years older than her and still treated her as their boss' daughter rather than a fellow worker.

The rumours of Wizard Ren still buzzed throughout the city, especially in the workshop. The workers' voices became whispers, as if at the mention of his name Kylo Ren would appear. The next month, the gossip turned from Wizard Ren and Snoke to all about Paige. The bakery had suddenly become extremely popular, very much so with the young gentlemen of Hanna City. Apparently there had been some marriage proposals already and much to Rey's relief, all had been firmly turned down.

Growing used to the isolation, Rey had taken to talking to the clothes instead. She began to flatter that clothes as a salesperson would customers. Complimenting the dresses, and shirts, and cloaks, she would say to a blue dress she held up in front of her, "You are going to get your life together and get rich." She picked up some dark trousers, gold and red stripes down the sides—"You are going to be the luckiest thing in the galaxy."

She carried on in this fashion, usually giving extra compliments to the plainer and duller clothes.

The shop grew more popular and busy as the anniversary celebration drew nearer. Having to work in the shop and sew the rest of the time, she finally conceded that her life was officially boring. Her eyes grew red rimmed from working through the night and her hair was kept in three buns to keep it from falling in her eyes as she hunched over to work. She told herself to give herself a break to visit her sister, but she never did. She grew more and more lonely and with less people around, she became more tentative to do things other than sew. Realising that she was losing who she used to be, a strong and determined young woman, she made her mind up that when the shop closed for the anniversary, she would go to see Paige. After all, the bakery was just a few streets away, less than a five-minute walk.

The anniversary day finally arrived and the festivities began. The streets were crowded with people celebrating. Jyn had to leave early so Rey remained behind to finish up. Her only comfort was that Paige would be working as well, the bakery being open until late that day. She watched people bustle by in their colourful clothes, people wandering the streets selling all kinds of foods and drinks. Even with the shop door closed she could feel the joy and exhilaration of the crowd. Putting on a grey shawl over her grey outfit, she stepped outside and into the street.

For somebody who had spent the last few months in mostly quiet, the noise was overwhelming and the people too many. She felt as if she were a crotchety old woman instead of a 19-year-old girl. Trying to avoid being squashed and trodden on, she edged her way through the crowd, jostled by people's elbows and shoulders.

She reached Senate Plaza and it was even worse. Not only were there huge crowds, but now there were young men swaggering both cockily and drunkenly, whistling and catcalling the girls. All the girls weren't surprised; this was just part of what happened every year at every anniversary. They weren't going to let it stop them from having fun. Trying to walk as inconspicuously as possible to avoid being accosted, Rey bumped into a tall man dressed in black, sporting a cloak equally as dark as his attire. He looked at her in surprise as she tried to shrink away.

"Don't be afraid," he said, not unkindly. "You don't need to look so scared."

Rey felt embarrassed as she felt him looking at her and feeling sorry for her. She didn't need his pity. Drawing herself up straight, she looked at him in the face. And it was a rather handsome and sophisticated one at that. He was well-built and well into his twenties, with raven hair and fascinating eyes that seemed dark one minute and lighter the next. Judging by the way he was dressed, he wasn't too eager to be noticed either, but unfortunately, with all the bright colours around them and his height, he stood out like a sore thumb.

"I'm fine" she replied firmly, "I'm on my way to see my sister."

"Well, I'll let you carry on your way then," he said.

Rey felt her face turn red and she dashed away. She pushed her way into the bakery and located Paige in the crowd of assistants behind the counter.

Paige, looking slightly shorter than usual, noticed her older sister in the doorway, her face breaking into a smile, "Rey!"

"Can we talk?" Rey yelled, being jostled about by the other customers. Paige nodded and asked a girl next to her to take over for her. Paige lifted the flap of the counter and let Rey through.

Paige grabbed Rey and dragged her to sit. She rummaged around one of the bags holding an assortment of baked goods and handed her sister a delicious and warm iced bun, "You're gonna need this."

Rey plonked down onto the chair and bit into the cake, breathing in it's sweet and rich scent, "I'm so glad to see you, Paige."

Paige took an anxious breath, unsure of how her sister was going to react, "I'm so glad to see you too but I'm not Paige. It's me, Rose."


	2. Chapter 2

Rey just stared ather sister. She couldn't really be Rose, could she? However, after a few moments as the information sank in, Rey began to notice the slight differences. Her face did seem rounder like her twin's, and Rey had seen earlier that this Paige was slightly shorter than usual.

Rey nodded slowly. "I can see it now." She looked around before she leant forward and whispered, "How did you manage to pull this off? Why did you do it?"

Her sister shrugged. "Paige wanted to learn witchcraft and I didn't."

Rey sat back in her chair, still trying to make sense of the situation.

Paige, or rather Rose, looked at Rey nervously. "I was worried about you coming to see me; eventually you would have figured it out. I know you won't tell anyone… will you?"

Rey smiled and tapped the side of her nose, "I don't know what you're talking about, Paige."

Rose gave a sigh of relief. "You wanted to know how we managed to do this without anyone noticing, well, it didn't take us that long to sort it out. You remember when I came back because I was feeling homesick?" Rey nodded and so Rose continued, "I'd been studying her books of spells and came back here with the one we needed. Paige and I switched places just before I left to go back to Maz. Paige was terrified that Maz would know what we had done, but interestingly Paige seems to be fine there, so maybe Maz hasn't noticed."

Rey bit into the cake and chewed thoughtfully before speaking. "I have to say, well done, this is some feat you've managed to pull off."

Rose beamed with pride before the smile dropped. "Why don't you stand up to Mother? She's been keeping you in the shop too long. You look terrible," she said sadly, looking at her sisters pale face and weary eyes. "You're not even wearing the clothes you used to. What's up with the grey dress and shawl? You look like an old woman."

"Mind your tongue, young lady," Rey joked, putting on her best old woman voice. Outwardly she was trying to not let her sister get upset, but inwardly she was screaming in agreement. Rose crossed her arms and looked at Rey expectantly. Rey sighed. "We've just been really busy. And it's hard on her, with Father's death and trying to sort out all the loans for the shop."

Rose frowned. "You don't get enough credit for your skills. I saw what's-her-name wearing the gorgeous blue dress you made and next thing I know, she's run off and married some prince. And recently, I swear I saw a guy wearing those trousers you made has had nearly seven near death experiences and escaped without a even a scratch on him. That whole thing about the eldest never amounting to anything exciting in their life is rubbish. You just need to go out and seek it yourself. After all, technically Paige and I haven't sought out ours. We were just handed it and swapped places."

Rey rolled her eyes and just as she was about to reply, a teenage boy no older than 16 years poked his head into the back room. "Paige, we need you." He then quickly ducked away to help manage the crowd of customers all clambering to buy cakes and buns and pastries. Rey got up to leave, deep in thought about what Rose had said. Maybe she could chase her fate; it was worth a shot. Waving goodbye to her sister—who was now rushing around behind the counter—she took a breath and stepped into the flood of people.

She walked back to the shop, not as anxious as before but still keeping an eye out for any men who planned to accost her. However, she didn't notice the sinister figure lurking in the shadows, watching her closely as she made her way back.

Back in the workshop, Rey mulled over what her sister had said to her. She held up the luxurious and lavish burgundy coat she had spent the last couple of days working on and inspected it for any minute flaws. She frowned as she picked off bits of thread.

"Maybe Rose is right. Maybe I need to get off my arse and do something with my life. Something that isn't sewing." She cocked her head. "What do you think?" she asked the coat. The garment remained silent. Rey rolled her eyes. "I need to stop talking to these bloody clothes."

Business after the anniversary tended to be a lot slower, and with a surplus of clothing, Rey spent most of her time minding the front of the shop. It was nice spending most of her day not cooped up sewing, but with nothing to do and still no one to talk to apart from her mother, she felt antsy. Normally her hands would be busy, but currently, as she sat at the counter with nothing to do, all she could do was fidget and twiddle her thumbs. She had already rearranged and straightened up the clothes—so much so that Jyn had begun to lose track of where everything was.

"Don't move anything while I'm gone, Rey." Jyn gave her daughter a look before she rushed to yet another meeting trying to sort out all of the finances.

Rey sighed as once again, she was plunged into silence. She put her head down and groaned; the only thing breaking the silence were her fingers rhythmically tapping on the counter. Suddenly, the bell on the door jingled, signalling that a customer had entered the shop, and she immediately perked up. Finally she had something to do. She tried not to let a look of shock cross her face as she was greeted by the sight extremely wiry and pale man.

She felt herself tense up, however. It wasn't from his wrinkled and scarred face—a rather nightmarish and severe scar disfigured the top of his bald head—but her unease came from the atmosphere of evil he brought along with him. The stench of it filled the shop and Rey didn't trust him one iota. But a customer was a customer, so she plastered a smile on her face and welcomed him. The man looked at her with a deep disdain and ignored her pleasantries.

"Miss Andor," he sniffed, "I've been hearing of your skills as a seamstress. In fact, I've been told that good things happen to those who've bought your clothes, and I know why."

Rey looked at him in surprise; that was not at all what she had been expecting. The man carried on, "You're very bold trying to match the powers of the Wizard of the Waste, and I've come to put a stop to it. I'm already dealing with one nuisance, and another one is the last thing I need." He carelessly waved his hand, and an odd feeling washed over Rey.

Her eyes widened at the realisation. "You're Snoke, aren't you?"

Snoke sneered at her. "Indeed I am. I hope you've learnt your lesson to not meddle in a world where you don't belong. If I have to see you again, and I should hope not, I won't be as kind to you as I have just been. Oh, one more thing, you can't tell anybody that you're under a spell."

Rey felt weak as she watched him swiftly exit the shop without a second glance at her. As she shakily walked back to her seat behind the counter, she stopped suddenly. What did he mean by she couldn't tell anybody that she was under a spell? She didn't feel any different, apart from the fact that her joints were mysteriously aching. She looked at her hands, but instead of seeing her smooth and youthful ones, she saw wrinkled and veiny hands. The hands of an old lady.

She tentatively drew them to her face and felt skin to match. Funnily enough, she didn't feel scared or anxious like she thought she ought to be;rather, she felt calm and collected. She shuffled to the bathroom out the back and saw the face of a ninety-year-old woman staring back at her. Her dark brown hair was now a silvery white, and her face had become shrivelled with age. Rey wasn't a particularly vain person, but she had to admit that she was slightly pleased that she didn't look like an ugly old hag and that she did still look rather robust and healthy for her age.

She suddenly remembered her mother.

 _I can't stay here,_ she thought, _she'd probably think that this was her fault._

Gathering her wits, she decided that now was the time to set out to seek her fortune. Snoke had taken off about eight decades of her life, so it was now or never. Grabbing her shawl, she closed up the shop and headed home to grab some more things before she went on her way.

She scribbled down a note to her mother explaining that she was going to be gone for a while and apologising for not being able to help out with the shop. She did leave out the key reason—being that she had turned into an old lady—but even if she could have mentioned it, Snoke had stopped her from being able to even try.

The only way to leave the city involved walking past the bakery where Rose worked. She desperately wanted to say goodbye to her sister, but she didn't want to make her worried. She was too busy to have to deal with that. Watching Rose through the window, she sighed and then carried on on her way.

By the time she reached the outer reaches of the city, Rey's joints were killing her, but she was just as stubborn and determined as ever and so she soldiered on, unwilling to waste any time. Her sight wasn't as sharp as it used to be, but she was still able to take in the peace and beauty of the environment around her. Grabbing a long stick, she began her journey of hobbling up an unfortunately large hill. Not only was it now uncomfortable for her to climb up, but it was also home to the castle of Kylo Ren.

"I'm an old woman now," Rey muttered to herself, "he's not going to be interested in me."

Convinced that her heart and soul were safe from the clutches of the evil wizard, she confidently marched onwards. Soon she was far too out of breath, and she reluctantly sat down to eat some of the bread she had packed to take with her. Being exposed to the air, it had become slightly stale, but stale plain bread was better than nothing. She rested for another half hour before she noticed that it was becoming twilight and the sunlight was slowly draining away, the moon starting its ascent and lighting up the land just enough for Rey to continue. However, even if there was still enough light, with her now weakened eyesight and uncertainty of what roamed the night, she didn't want to risk getting caught out. Getting up with a groan, she packed away her food and shuffled up the hill.

Rey thanked her lucky stars for the light of the full moon, but stars could only provide so much luck as she wearily conceded that the only way she would be able to continue on her way would be to ask Kylo Ren if she could stay at his castle. She sighed and headed towards the ominous building. Much to Rey's annoyance, it certainly lived up to its name of being a moving castle. The closer she came to it, the further away it went.

Mustering up all of her strength, she doddered as fast as she could to it. As soon as she was close enough, she gave it a whack with her walking stick, a loud clang reverberating through the hills and valley. The castle screeched to a halt and, satisfied, she climbed up the stairs. It was a rather ugly building up close, and Rey wondered if it matched its inhabitant's soul. Black, dreary and menacing. She knocked on the door and felt a wave of anxiety wash over her as she waited for the dreaded wizard to open the door.


	3. Chapter 3

The youthful face of a brown-skinned young man, around the same age Rey herself should have been, peered around the door. He frowned, but not in an unfriendly or grumpy manner. "Who are you?"

Rey stood up straight, well, as straight as her body would allow her to. "My name is Rey and… and if you had any respect for your elders, you would open the door and let me in," she replied in what she hoped was an authoritative tone. She didn't feel afraid. She was certain that the young man in front of her couldn't be the wizard; she couldn't feel even the slightest aura of maliciousness from him.

"As much as I do respect my elders, I'm not going to let you in. I have no idea of who you are, where you're from—"

"As I said, my name is Rey, I am…ninety years old,"—she gave a stab in the dark about her age—"I'm from Hanna City, and now will you let me in?"

The young man opened the door more, albeit rather reluctantly.

A voice yelled from behind, "What are you doing Finn?! Shut that door you idiot! Don't let the old bat in!"

 _Was that Kylo Ren?_ Rey wondered, but by the time the voice had finished speaking, she had pushed past Finn and promptly sat down in an armchair in front of the fireplace. She looked around but saw no other figure who could have spoken. Brushing off her bewilderment over where the voice had come from, she settled into her seat, her weary body finally getting a proper rest.

The voice suddenly piped up grumpily, "Who in the world are you and why are you here?"

She heard a cackle as she looked around wildly. Her mouth dropped open as she noticed a face in the blaze in front of her. The fire was somehow alive and talking.

There was a slight smirk and the voice added in a hopeful tone, expecting her to leg it at any moment, "Before you even ask, I'm a fire demon."

"A demon?!"

Finn rolled his eyes. "Don't worry about him, he's more of a nuisance than a demon."

"Hey!" the fire demon retorted adamantly. "I'll have you know that I am as evil and devilish as they come."

"Hux, you're more high maintenance than Kylo, you liar. Speaking of which, he should have been here over an hour ago. Where is he?" Finn said as he calmly poured a mysterious lime-green powder into a small cauldron of violet-coloured liquid bubbling away.

"How should I know?"

"Well, you're the one who's—" But before Finn could finish, a tall figure opened the door.

Rey gasped as she recognised the familiar man entering the room.

She had met Wizard Ren at the anniversary celebration.

 _Thank goodness I didn't keep talking to him_ , Rey thought to herself, _I don't even want to think what could have happened to me._

 __Kylo stopped suddenly as he noticed Rey. He studied the old woman sitting in the armchair. "Have we met before?"

"No," Rey replied abruptly. "Why?"

Kylo shrugged. "You just seem familiar." He walked over to Finn and looked in his cauldron. "Looks good, well done."

Rey was confused; he certainly didn't look or behave how she expected an evil wizard to. She was expecting to see another Snoke, not an attractive twenty-something-year-old man. Kylo walked over to Rey. He was a lot taller than she remembered. Mind you, the last time she saw him she wasn't stooped over with age. She recalled their first encounter. Whose heart had he stolen that day? Which poor girl had fallen victim to him?

She raised herself from the chair and glared at him. "You're a monster."

"Yes, I am," he replied seriously.

There was a pause before Hux and Finn laughed loudly.

"Kylo's not a monster," Finn said with a snort. "Sure, he's a dickhead, but he is definitely not monster."

"Yes, I am a monster. You've just forgotten how evil and heartless I am." He glared at Finn, sending him into another fit of laughter. He looked helplessly at the fire demon. "Do I even have any authority in my own home?"

"Authority? You?" Hux chortled.

"You shut up." He ran a hand through his raven hair and turned back to Rey with a weary sigh. "First of all, who are you? Secondly, why are you here?"

"I'm... I'm..." She tried her hardest to tell Kylo the truth, but Snoke certainly did a good job of making sure she couldn't even insinuate she was under a spell. She gritted her teeth in frustration and lied.

"I'm your cleaning lady."

Kylo looked at Finn and raised his eyebrows.

Finn put his hands up. "It wasn't me. I didn't call for her."

"This could be a nice place if it was a bit cleaner…" said Rey.

"It is a nice place!" Kylo exclaimed adamantly.

It wasn't.

Spiderwebs decorated every corner, dust coated every shelf, dirty dishes were piled up in the kitchen sink, and frankly, Rey didn't know what colour the rug on the floor was supposed to be.

If Rey was to convince Kylo to let her be the cleaning lady, she had to play the part. Hux looked at Rey suspiciously as she ran a finger over the mantlepiece. She drew it back and waved a very dusty finger in front of Kylo's face. "Look at this! It's filthy here."

Kylo frowned. The feisty woman in front of him did not seem to be one to back down easily. "I have a horrible feeling that you're not going to leave me alone. If I give you a one-month trial, when it's over, will you go away and let me, my fire demon and my apprentice be?"

One month. Surely that would be enough time to figure out a way to get the wizard to break the spell. Rey nodded and stuck out a knobbly and age-spotted hand for him to shake. He clasped hers and quickly ducked away into another room. Rey gave a sigh of relief and sat back down in the armchair. Rey heard Finn huff behind her, "I should have used the bathroom before he came back. Why do I never learn?"

Seeing the look of confusion on Rey's face, Finn explained, "He's going to be in there for ages, and Hux has been pretty lazy today—"

"Hey! I work hard to keep this bloody building from falling apart and now you expect me to make sure there's hot water every hour of the day," Hux grumbled. "I refuse to be exploited.'

Finn rolled his eyes as he cleared off the workbench where the potion now sat. About to throw the apron over a cobweb-covered chair in the corner, he caught Rey's sharp look and moved to hang it up nicely on a hook on the kitchen wall. Bidding Rey goodnight, he shuffled out of the room, acutely aware of her scrutinising look as he left. Rey sat back in the chair and tried to relax. However, the fire demon's beady eyes were unnerving, and she felt restless as he watched her. Rey folded her arms and glared at Hux. "What?"

"I know you're under a spell."


End file.
